Security Center

Identity Theft Schemes

Pharming

Pharming is a newer and more advanced technique than Phishing. In this scheme, people are redirected from a legitimate web site to a malicious one that appears similar, both in form and content, to the original site. Once on this site, thieves will attempt to collect personal information such as login names and passwords.

Ways to Detect Pharming

When you visit a web site to make a purchase or access account information, take a moment to double check that the following safety indicators show up.

  • Ensure that the web site you are visiting uses SSL. SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer and is a communication protocol used to secure data transfer on the internet. When SSL is enabled you will notice a small padlock that appears in the lower right corner of your browser window.
  • A secure section of a web site will also add an "s" after the "http:" portion of the web site address, for example, "https:".

Ways to Defend Against Pharming

  • Unfortunately, indicators of authenticity can be spoofed by hackers. Because of this, these checks are not absolute indicators of the safety of a web site. Therefore, it is important to also check your statements and account information to validate expected transaction history.
  • If you believe that a company is being misrepresented, contact the company using a trusted telephone number, email address, or web site. If you believe that Scottrade has been misrepresented, please call 1-800-619-SAVE or email us at phishing@scottrade.com

Brokerage Products and Services offered by Scottrade, Inc. – Member FINRA and SIPC.

No information on this web site should be considered a recommendation or solicitation to invest in a particular security or type of security.

Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses of a mutual fund carefully before investing. A mutual fund's prospectus contains this and other information about the mutual fund. Prospectuses are available through our trading site or through a Scottrade branch office. The prospectus should be read carefully before investing.

Margin trading involves interest charges and risks, including the potential to lose more than deposited or the need to deposit additional collateral in a falling market. Scottrade's margin agreement is available on our web site and at our branch offices; and contains the Margin Disclosure Statement and information on our lending policies, interest charges, and the risks associated with margin accounts. Options are not appropriate for all investors. Detailed information on our policies and the risks associated with options can be found in Scottrade's Options Application and Agreement, Brokerage Account Agreement, and Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options (available from your local branch office or here). All option accounts require prior approval by Scottrade.

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